“MacOS High Sierra includes the all new APFS file system, which is arguably one of the most significant new features introduced in the new Mac operating system update,” OS X Daily writes. “Nonetheless it’s possible that some Mac owners with SSD volumes will want to not convert the existing HFS+ file system to APFS file system when installing macOS High Sierra.”

“With a little command line magic, you can skip converting to APFS during the macOS High Sierra installation process if desired,” OS X Daily writes.

“This is not recommended and should only be applicable to advanced users who have specific reasons to not want to convert a Mac to APFS,” OS X Daily writes. “APFS is faster and offers better encryption, amongst other benefits, so it’s generally recommended to use APFS if the Mac supports it. APFS is currently only supported on SSD drives, with Fusion drives support for APFS soon to arrive in a future Mac software update.”

I just did to do this on my computer build a few days. I installed High Sierra twice with it unexpectedly switching my partition to APFS before I finally found this command line fix. APFS work great, as far as I can tell, but there was just a Hackintosh utility I needed to run that had yet to be updated to handle the new file system. I look forward to upgrading to APFS when the time is right.

YES there a benefit and potentially critical reason to SKIP APFS at this time, no matter what Macs you’re using:

There are NO file system repair utilities compatible with APFS except Apple’s limited Disk Utility.

That’s important IMHO.

WHY is this the case? Apple only provided a public standard for APFS to developers on the DAY they publicly released High Sierra. That left utility developers zero time to build APFS compatibility into their software.

AND APFS is still Fusion Drive illiterate, leaving a remaining gaping hole in the APFS standard.

Poorly done Apple.

I’ll bother with APFS when it’s FINISHED and when developers have been allowed to catch up with your full, complete standard.

Reminder: Apple has been working for over a decade to replace HFS+. They’re still not finished. 😛

…with Fusion drives support for APFS soon to arrive in a future Mac software update.